Kira (given name)
Kira is a mostly feminine name of multiple origins and meanings.
Pronunciation | /ˈkɪərə/ KEER-ə, /ˈkiːrə/ KEE-rə |
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Gender | mostly female |
Origin | |
Meaning | multiple ("like Ra", "beam of light", "shine", "ruler of the people") |
Region of origin | multiple (Ancient Greece, Egypt, India, Ireland, Japan, Russia and Hindu) |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Kerra, Kiira, Kira, Kaira, Keera, Keira, Kiera, Kyra, Kyrah, Kirah, Kyreena, Kyrha, Kyria, Kyrie, Kyrene, Kyrra, and Kirra |
Related names | Akira, Ciara, Cyrus, Kaira, Keera, Keira, Kiera, Kiran, Kyra |
Look up Kira or kira in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
The feminine form is pronounced /ˈkɪərə/ KEER-ə or /ˈkiːrə/ KEE-rə. It might be a feminine form of the name Kiran, pronounced /ˈkɪərən/ KEER-ən. Kiran is of Hindi and Sanskrit origin, meaning "beam of light". In Ancient Hebrew "Keren" means both "a horn" and "a beam of light". Besides Sanskrit and Hebrew there might be other etymologies from Egyptian, where the word Ki-Ra means "like Ra", or Persian.[1][2] Due to the Greek interpretation of the Persian king's name Kourosh (کوروش, Kūrosh) as Κύρος (Kýros) – which was obviously modeled after the Greek word κύριος (kýrios "lord"), the feminine form being κυρία (kyría) – Kyra (or Kira) can also be understood as a variant.[3] Therefore, it is also in use as a feminine form of the Greek diminutive form Cyril.
In Russian Kira (Ки́ра) is the feminine form of the masculine name Kir, meaning "mistress, ruler", but can translate to "leader of the people", "one the people look to" or "beloved".[4] Kira could also have arrived into Russian from the Persian-Greek name Kyra. Kira can also be the diminutive of the old and rare masculine given name Avvakir.[5]
Kira is one of several Anglicized forms of the Irish name Ciara, which in Irish means "dark haired".[6]
There is also a Japanese name, romanized as Kira, which is common in Japan, as both given name and family name. Kira kira also means "glittery, shiny" in Japanese.[7]
Variant forms include Kaira, Keera, Keira, Kiera, Kyra, Kyrah, Kyreena, Kyrha, Kyria, Kyrie, Kyrene, Kyrra, and Kirra.[8] In Hindu it means sacred bells. They are used in religious ceremonies.
People with this name
- Kira Banasińska (1899-2002), wife of Eugeniusz Banasińska
- Kira Bousloff (1914-2001), Russian-Australian dancer
- Kira Buckland (born 1987), American voice actress
- Kira Bulten (born 1973), Dutch Olympic swimmer
- Kira Bursky, American filmmaker
- Kira Carstensen, documentary filmmaker
- Kira Cochrane (born 1977), British journalist
- Kira Davis, American film producer
- Kira Dikhtyar (born 1989), Russian model
- Kira Danganan-Azucena, Filipino diplomat
- Kira Eggers (born 1974), Danish model
- Kira Geil (born 1985), Austrian ice dancer
- Kira Golovko (1919–2017), Russian actress
- Kira Grünberg (born 1993), Austrian politician
- Kira Hall (born 1962), American anthropologist
- Kira Lynn Harris (born 1963), American artist
- Kira Henehan (born 1974), American author
- Kira Horn (born 1995), German field hockey player
- Kira Hurley (born 1986), Canadian professional ice hockey player
- Kira Inugami, Japanese manga artist
- Kira Isabella (born 1993), Canadian country music artist
- Kira Ivanova (1963–2001), Russian figure skater
- Kira Jääskeläinen, Finnish-Polish film director
- Kira Kattenbeck (born 1992), German badminton player
- Kira Kazantsev (born 1991), Russian-American beauty queen
- Kira Kelly, American cinematographer
- Kira Kosarin (born 1997), American actress
- Kira Kreylis-Petrova (born 1931), Russian theater actress
- Kira Lipperheide (born 2000), German bobsledder
- Kira Makarova, Estonian-American researcher
- Kira Maria, Bulgarian empress consort
- Kira McLean, American actress
- Kira Miró (born 1980), Spanish actress and a presenter
- Kira Mozgalova (born 1982), Russian Olympic athlete
- Kira Muratova (born 1934), Soviet and Ukrainian film director, screenwriter, and actress
- Kira Nagy (born 1977), Hungarian tennis player
- Kira Narayanan (born 1994), Indian film actress
- Kira O'Reilly, British performance artist
- Kira Peikoff (born 1985), American journalist
- Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (born 1998), Danish politician
- Kira Phillips (born 1995), Australian rules footballer
- Kira Plastinina (born 1992), Russian fashion designer
- Kira Poutanen (born 1974), Finnish writer and actress
- Kira Borisovna Povarova (born 1933), Russian professor
- Kira Puru, Australian musician
- Kira Radinsky (born 1986), Israeli computer scientist
- Kira Reed (born 1971), American actress
- Kira Roessler (born 1962), American musician
- Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia (1909–1967)
- Princess Kira of Prussia (1943–2004)
- Kira Salak (born 1971), American writer
- Kira Shashkina, Russian pianist
- Kira Skov (born 1976), Danish singer
- Kira Soltanovich (born 1973), Ukrainian comedian
- Kira Stepanova (born 1993), Russian Olympic athlete
- Kira Toussaint (born 1994), Dutch swimmer
- Kira Tozer (born 1984), Canadian voice actress
- Kira Trusova (born 1994), Russian handball player
- Kira Vincent-Davis (born 1979), American voice actress
- Kira Walkenhorst (born 1990), German beach volleyball player
- Kira Weidle (born 1996), German alpine skier
- Kira Willey, American musician
- Kira Zvorykina (1919–2014), Soviet and Ukrainian chess player
Pseudonyms
- Kira (German singer) (born 1978), stage name of Janine Scholz
- Kira (Belgian singer) (born 1977), stage name of Natasja de Witte
- Kira Chikazane (1563-1588), Japanese retainer
- Kira Lewis Jr. (born 2001), American basketball player
- Kira Sugiyama (1910–1988), Japanese photographer
- The name given to the person who uploaded the pictures in the Edison Chen photo scandal
Fictional characters
- Kira (Death Note), alias of the protagonist Light Yagami in the Japanese manga/anime franchise Death Note
- Kira (Gelfling) in the film The Dark Crystal
- Kira (Iggy Arbuckle), a rat in the animated series Iggy Arbuckle
- Kira (Mortal Kombat)
- Kira the Seer in the Charmed television series universe
- Kira, a recurring character and antagonist in Season 3 of Andi Mack
- Kira, the main character of the book Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
- Kira, daughter of Sarah Manning in the television series Orphan Black
- Kira in the animated TV series Zack & Quack
- Kyra in the movie The Chronicles of Riddick
- Kira in the movie Xanadu, played by Olivia Newton-John
- Kira, a Japanese mercenary in the video game Dirty Bomb
- Kira Argounova, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's We the Living
- Kira Aso, female protagonist in the Japanese manga Mars
- Kira Carsen in the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic
- Kira Daidohji in the video game series Arcana Heart
- Kira Finster in animated Nickelodeon TV series Rugrats and All Grown Up!
- Kira Ford (aka Yellow Dino Ranger) in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder
- Kyra Hart in the TV show Reba, played by Scarlett Pomers
- Kira Marlowe in TV series Flashpoint, constable, Special Response Unit dispatcher, played by Pascale Hutton
- Kira Nerys, one of the main characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Kira is her family name)
- Kira Sakuratsuki in the anime Futakoi
- Sumeragi Kira in the anime Uta no Prince-Sama
- Kira Supernova, character in 2013 film Escape from Planet Earth, portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker
- Kira Yamato in the TV anime series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny (masculine)
- Kira Yoshikage, a primary antagonist and serial killer in the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (masculine)
- Kira Yukimura, one of the main characters in the MTV show "Teen Wolf"
- Izuru Kira, a soul reaper in the anime Bleach
- Sakuya Kira in the manga and anime Angel Sanctuary
- Tsubasa Kira in the anime Love Live!
- Kyra, a character in the video game Assassin's Creed Odyssey
See also
References
- "Persian meaning of the name Kira". www.babynamescountry.com.
- "Kira Name Meaning & Origin".
- "Greek meaning of the name Kira". www.thinkbabynames.com.
- "Russian Translation for Kira".
- Н. А. Петровский (N. A. Petrovsky). "Словарь русских личных имён" (Dictionary of Russian First Names). ООО Издательство "АСТ". Москва, 2005. ISBN 5-17-002940-3. page 31
- "Gaelic meaning of the name Kira".
- "Japanese & various meanings of the name Kira". Archived from the original on 2010-04-08.
- "Origins and 11 variant names of Kyra". www.thinkbabynames.com.